S.S.L.C. HALF YEARLYEXAMINATION-2014- 15
Language - Part B - ENGLISH PAPER I – ANSWER KEY
SECTION – I (VOCABULARY: 20 MARKS)
1. Synonyms
(i) exceptional
(ii) fascinating
(iii) piteous
(iv) scanty
(v) indispensable
2. Antonyms
i) exclude
ii) invidious
iii) diligence
iv) respect
v) valuable
5X1=5
-
d) extraordinary / a) excellent
c) interesting / a) attractive
d) sorrowful
c) insufficient
b) essential
5x1=5
X
X
X
X
X
d) include
c) just
b) laziness
a) disrespect
b) worthless
Answer any ten of the following:
10x1=10
3. IAS - c) Indian Administrative Service
4. I tried to steal the jewels from the steel almirah.
5. cot – crib
6. c) light house
7. b) daughters-in-law
8. b) unquenchable
9. c) get on with
10. a) laugh
 1 Syllable
b) in - side
 2 Syllables
c) sur - vi - val  3 Syllables
11. b) welcome
12. *Any meaningful sentence without grammatical error.
(a) success
(b) successful
(c) succeed
13. Being stupidity, Kuppan is disliked by all / Because of his stupidity, Kuppan is disliked
by all / Kuppan’s stupidity made him disliked by all.*
14. b) Mani is not actually rich.
SECTION – II (GRAMMAR: 25 MARKS)
Answer all the following.
15. b) would support
16. c) S V IO DO
17. b) aren’t they?
18. a) as intelligent as
19. b) Meena does not work at all.
20. b) Being
21. b) Reading
22. a) on harvesting
23. a) a
24. c) beside
10x1=10
Answer all. Rewrite as directed.
5x2=10
25. *Subha not only spoke well in the competition but also won the first prize. /
Subha spoke well in the competition as well as won the first prize. /
Subha spoke well in the competition and also won the first prize. /
Subha spoke well in the competition and won the first prize.
26. A beautiful picture was painted by the artist and it was appreciated by everyone.
27. Lalitha said to Sarah, “I returned the library book yesterday?” /
28. *If it hadn’t been very hot, people would have gone out. / If it had been fine weather,
people would have gone out.
29. *Ganesh is elder than Sivarajan. / Ganesh is the eldest of all in the group. / Murugan is
younger than Ganesh.
30. Punctuation.
Mother said to Preethiya , “ How did you write the test? ”
5
SECTION – III (PROSE: 15MARKS)
Answer any five of the following
5x2=10
31. Hughie – mistook – Baron – a real beggar – But really - a millionaire – Hughie thought
- he may take revenge – So he feared.
32. Art –basic need of survival –ways to express our feelings - essential part of life – so
find place even in concentration camps.
33. True spirit of discipline – voluntarily subordinates our judgment – our convenience –
personal gain to common good.
34. Chaya – able to give her children – their first meal – only in the afternoon.
35. Domestic workers - denied their due rights - sorrows and sufferings - not noticed by the
society – So they are ‘invisible’.
36.The Migrant Birds – brave little voyagers – Willow warbler – the smallest bird.
37. King Raja Raja Chola – consecrated – anointed with holy water from - all sacred
rivers.
Answer in a paragraph (any one)
1x5=5
38. a) Art - essential part of life - part of human survival - human spirit - Messiaen, a
musician - captured - by Germans - World War II - imprisoned in concentration camp faced hardships - live without basic needs - food, water, respect - couldn’t live without
art - wrote music composition - ‘Quartet for the end of time’ - most profound musical
compositions - Music found - place - even in concentration camps
(OR)
b) Climate change - reduce water supply - Global warming - leads - melting of glaciers –
Ganges, Yamuna - fed by ice - If Himalayan glaciers - become ice-free - Ganga,
Yamuna - dry - future – worse - Diwan Singh says - if rivers dry - people migrate Climate change, diminishing water supplies - reduce cereal yields - South Asia – 5% in
future - Peter Gleick, a water expert, says - tension over - shared water resources tension between human, ecology - tensions lead violence.
(OR)
c) Brihadeesvarar temple and Art at Tanjore - contributions of Cholas - towards art, culture.
The temple - 1000 years - built by king Raja Raja Chola - king and his family - donated gold and silver - structure – majestic - timeless architectural marvel - stands - symbol of
our culture - area of temple - 3,00,000 sq.feet - surrounded with fort - Gopura - towered
with – Vimanam - built up - stones with bonding , notching - without using mortarweighs about 80 tons - lifted - without - help of machines - baffles engineers - tower
unbeatable - perfect geometry, clarity of lines - remain unshaken by wind or rain – thus
temple’s grandeur, craftsmanship in statues – were contributions of Cholas.
SECTION – IV (POETRY : 20 MARKS)
Quote from memory (any one)
39. a) If you can dream and not make dreams your master;
If you can think and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster;
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can force your heart, and nerve, and sinew
1x5=5
b) Through fears and fright I fly my flight.
No walls for me, no vigil gates,
No flags, no machine guns that blast
Citizens of those border statesBrothers of her brother’s sons.
Read the poetic lines and answer
5x1=5
40. The modest or simple man’s yearning kindness to help others.
41. Hymns are holy songs / religious poems / sacred poems/ holy chants.
42. They prayed to the iron wheels to stop their work at least for a day in order to take
rest.
43. 'I' refers to the migrant bird.
44. The shilpi created a statue. / A statue was created by Shilpi. (* The question should
be like ‘What did the shilpi create?’ or What was created by Shilpi?)
Read the poem lines and answer :
45. Rhyming words: can – ran
46.Rhyming Scheme: a b a b
47. Alliteration : dream – dreams
48. Figure of Speech: Simile
49. Figure of Speech: Simile
5x1=5
Answer in a paragraph (any one)
1x5=5
50. a) The inner beauty - more important than the outer appearance - We cannot judge a
person - mere appearance - ‘appearances are deceptive’ insists this - we see only the
outer appearance - not perceive the inner beauty - enjoy the glittering crystals of a
geode - it is split by water - we can enjoy the inner beauty - when it reveals - keenly
observe the modest and simple persons - will find a lot of virtues in them - Their
beautiful and benevolent heart is a priceless treasure - virtues reveal inner beauty - very
valuable.
(OR)
b) The children are working in the factories - can’t run or leap - they are tired - children go
to the meadows - will only drop down and sleep - can’t play - They have to bend to
drive the iron wheels - They keep on bending while they work for a long time - their
knees tremble - eyelids are drooping - working in the factory all the day - pulses are
burning - hearts, heads and the walls turn with the wheels - prayer is to stop the wheels
- for a day - offer such a prayer to escape from the tedious work.
(OR)
c) Poet Rudyard Kipling says - should not live in a dream world - not addict to thoughts action is important than dreams and thoughts - Success and defeat - two sides of same
coin - learn lessons from that - treat both as same - may lose strength but not hope - use
time properly, usefully - able to do the above - masters of the world.
SECTION –V (LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS: 20 MARKS)
51. Read the passage and answer the questions:
5x2=10
a) Abraham Lincoln contested for the membership of the senate four time, but he was
defeated every time. In 1858, he contested for the United States Senate against
Douglas. It was also a failure. These were the failures met by Lincoln in his life.
b) Douglas won the 1858 election for the United States Senate.
c) Lincoln’s opponents ridiculed him by calling ‘third rate country lawyer’ and ‘maker of
clumsy jokes’
d) The topmost post of the United States is ‘the President of United States’. Lincoln was
elected for the post in 1861.
e) Failures are stepping stone to success / Perseverance pays / Hard work wins / Slow
and steady wins the race.
52. Identify and correct the errors:
a) Tom is one of the most talkative boys in the class.
b) My mother went to the doctor when she was sick yesterday.
c) This is a hard nut to crack.
d) Has anyone seen my purse? (Given sentence is correct)
e) My mother made the servant __ do the work.
5x1=5
53. Look at the picture and answer the questions:
5x1=5
a) I see sky, rainbow, a hill, trees, butterfly and some flowers in this picture.
b) I see a rainbow in the sky.
c) The insects flying in the garden are butterflies.(insect - Butterfly)
d) There are seven colours in the rainbow.
e) * Award mark for any meaningful title. (Beauty of Nature / Nature / Beauty / Hill ……)